《TAIPEI TIMES》 Banks’ overseas units post record-high Q1 net profits

An aerial view of the Central business district in Hong Kong is pictured on Feb. 24. Photo: AFP

By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporter Overseas branches of Taiwanese banks have reported NT$28.99 billion （US$918.8 million） in combined net profit for the first quarter of this year, a record high for the period and up 8.6 percent year-on-year, although their overseas units in China saw net profit decline of 19.71 percent, data released by the Financial Supervisory Commission （FSC） showed yesterday.

The commission attributed the profit increase in banks’ overseas units to higher interest and fee income and lower bad debt charges, even though investment gains decreased due to unfavorable foreign exchange and bond market conditions.

Hong Kong remained the most profitable market for banks’ overseas units, with their combined profit in the first quarter rising 5.1 percent to NT$13.39 billion from NT$12.74 billion a year earlier, accounting for 46.19 percent of the total, FSC data showed.

Singapore was second, with NT$3.42 billion, followed by the US at NT$3.26 billion, China at NT$2.24 billion, and Japan at NT$1.67 billion, the data showed.

The commission said fluctuations in the bond and foreign exchange markets dragged banks’ combined profit in China to fall from the previous year’s NT$2.79 billion.

Meanwhile, banks’ units in countries included in the government’s New Southbound Policy reported an annual increase of 15.9 percent in combined profit to a record NT$7.51 billion, FSC data showed.

The New Southbound Policy aims to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, with overseas units in Singapore and Australia posting the largest profit increases and Vietnamese units the biggest profit decrease during the period, data showed.

By region, banks generated the most profit in Asia at NT$24.07 billion, or 83.03 percent, as they focused on the market while establishing the most branches and subsidiaries in the region, the commission said.

It was followed by the Americas at NT$3.43 billion, or 11.83 percent, and then Oceania at NT$910 million, or 3.14 percent, the data showed.

However, banks did not perform well in Europe, reporting a 6.67 percent decline in combined profit to NT$560 million from NT$600 million in the previous year, the data showed.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES